Getting ready to compete

-Do not agree to compete after the holidays, without getting a program done in advance. Mine isn't finished and I can only do the first third of it well.
-Write down your coach's schedule for the weeks before the event, because you might forget about prior commitments that prevent them from showing up at the rink.
-Do not freak out as much as I do right now. Chances are, it should still be fun

DO BRING A SPARE COPY OF YOUR MUSIC!!!! I actually had my music CD screw up at one competition! If I hadn't had a spare...well, I guess I couldn't have skated.

For that matter, if you can, DO check that your CDs work on the rink's sound system.

And one last mid competition suggestion: if you fall, DON'T panic. DO get up and skate on like nothing happened if you haven't injured yourself. There's nothing like the feeling of coming back strong from falling on your butt.

Make sure you've practiced without gloves. . .especially if you have a blade grab at any point in your program! I once opened my program with a spin position where I had to grab my blade, and found out after my final bow that my hand had been bleeding throughout the entire program, LOL! Now I pack band-aids and schedule an extra 5 minutes to put them on before competitions.

I have a pet peeve of people wearing underwear of colors that show through the fabric of their clothing. I wonder if those people realize the situation.

Make sure you skate on the ice at an away competition to get used to it before competition day. My first competition was at a place where the rink size was larger and the ice harder than my home rink was. Not having gotten used to that larger rink size to adjust my program, meant I couldn't use the entire ice surface as judges expect to see. The harder ice felt peculiar under my feet and I'm sure it affected my spins, though it's been too long to remember that detail (still, even with the oddities, I got 3rd place which isn't bad for a 1st time competitor).

Good point about skating on different ice surfaces to get used to them! When skating on an NHL sized surface (85' x 200'), use the entire width of the rink when you skate your program. When skating on an Olympic sized surface (100' x 200'), stay at least 7-1/2' away from each side of the rink. That will make up for the 15' difference in width so that you end up at the right spot on the ice for each element.

Do not wait until the day before the competition to get your blades sharpened.

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I did that once. My skate guy had been injured and couldn't sharpen. I thought I'd be ok, but in my last week or so of practice the blades were really showing signs of being too dull. So my skate guy sent me out to Fred at Detroit Skating Club. The only time I could go out there (it's an hour away from me) was the day before I left for Adult Midwesterns. Fred was awesome - when I told him I was leaving for competition the next day he had me go out on the ice to see if I liked the sharpening, and made several adjustments until they felt just right to me.

That Adult Mids was the one and only time I qualified for the championship gold event at Adult Nationals. Maybe I should go to Fred the day before sectionals every time.

ioana, I forgot the last half of my program at my first competition back as an adult. I just faked it for a a bit until some of it came back to me. I don't think it affected anything - I don't remember my finish, but I know I still had fun.

Fred is a genius at sharpening skates. He did mine before I passed 2 pre-golds at DSC. I cried with happiness for hours after that test session! I should mention that Igor was my partner and it was MANY years ago. He skated so damn fast I was actually in fear during the Killian!